Yesterday--May 5--was our fifth wedding anniversary. Five years ago, on a Saturday night during worship, Paul and I were married. Our kids were there--they made promises to each other and to us, too, to be a part of this new family, to try and get along, to love each other, and to know that they are loved in return (side note: they have kept those vows and even improved on them--awesome). Our friends were there and so were our families. It was a fun, festive, sacred event--the best wedding ever! I find it hard to believe that five years have come and gone--it seems like yesterday. I also can't believe how much has happened since that time:
Our house has changed. We've: replaced the front porch (the old one kind of fell off), lost a big old maple tree (strong winds!), put on a new roof (the old one leaked, causing a rain-forest effect in the living room and Ben's bedroom), installed a new sewer system (the old one collapsed--gross), lost a finished basement (rain damage), gained a new driveway (because of the sewer collapse), landscaped the front yard (had to do something since the tree wasn't there anymore), painted and re-painted various rooms, painted and re-painted the exterior of the house, redecorated a bathroom, and rearranged furniture more times than Paul can count (I get bored with the same arrangement day in and day out...). Our house may have changed a lot in the past five years, but our home hasn't. We still find that this is the place we want to host friends, share our dreams, eat our meals and play with our kids. No matter what it might look like, this is home--and a great one, too.
Our family has changed, too, in the past five years. We've watched the kids grow up and almost out--Ben will go to college this fall, Bailey will be a senior and Hannah a Junior. There have been: first proms, first dates, driver's licenses, adolescent hormones, soccer, volleyball, track, cross country, softball, art shows, music concerts, school plays, ACTs, homecoming dances, summer vacations, camping trips, shopping trips, weekends at the lake with my parents, weeks in Texas with Paul's parents, after school and summer jobs, video game marathons, late night conversations and early morning...well, nothing happens early in the morning with teenagers.
And Paul and I have changed, too. In the past five years we have laughed and cried and fought and made up too many times to count. Paul has changed jobs: from pastor of Crossroads UCC in Indianola to Minister of CE at Central Presbyterian to his current position as interim minsiter at Covenant Christian. And I haven't changed jobs, but have seen colleagues come and go and Plymouth grow and change. It's been fun. Together, we have learned how to throw pottery, quilt, kayak, bowl, and landscape. Paul taught me how to camp. I taught him how to appreciate Johnny Cash and dogs. He took up mountain biking for awhile--wound up in the hospital. I took up jogging for awhile--wound up with a stress fracture. We've grown into a routine: he's a late night person, I'm an early morning person; he likes to go for long runs, I like to do yoga; he likes tea, I like coffee; he cleans the bathrooms, I vacuum and dust. He is still my best friend, and I'm guessing that I am his, too. It's all good. Very good.
It's been an interesting five years. I am grateful for every moment. And I'm looking forward to the next five, ten, twenty, forty...
Happy Anniverary, Paul. I love you.
